This paper summarizes the issues underlying the Amish conflicts with public school consolidation and the enforcement of extended compulsory school-age limits. It calls attention to a long-standing strategy for community control of schools contributing to the maintenance of a culturally divergent minority group tradition. None of the traditional…

Self-interested political, corporate, and education leaders have undermined recent West Virginia court decisions mandating educational reform. Three implications are: (1) principals, teachers, parents, and students must be equal partners in the educaiton reform process; (2) a constituency for rural children is needed; and (3) rural educators must…

The systemic reform exemplified by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA) requires the coupling of top-down state mandates with bottom-up advocacy and leadership. This research on an Eastern Kentucky school district details the dynamics at the district's main high school, as people struggle to build both a community of learners within…

This paper is designed as a guide to the study of empowerment in the neighborhood movement for historic preservation in New Orleans' French Quarter. For this case study, whose initial focus in on a relatively affluent sector of the population, culture and identity become prominent. However, the review adopts a broader focus to ensure its…

This paper presents personal reflections on factors in the preservation and stabilization of North American indigenous languages. All indigenous languages in North America are in danger of being lost. Linguistic and cultural minority communities must control the institutions that affect their lives if there is to be significant and sustainable…

Diversity of geography, climate, and culture dictate the nature of the service delivery systems in Alaska, including the provision of prevention programming in substance abuse, alcoholism, health, and behavioral health. Described here are training programs, conferences and symposia, health fairs, and culturally derived interventions that meet the…

Investigates school board receptivity, defined as an attitude set that favors greater communication and participation by the public, using data derived from interviews with 492 board members from 82 school boards distributed across the continental United States. (JM)

Growing social and economic inequalities and political impotency are the sources of functional illiteracy. The current educational emphasis on basic skills will not resolve these problems. Students must harness their collective forces to replace corporate control with democratic power. (Author/GC)

Examines selected Native American child welfare programs in Canada that emphasize community control. Explains genesis of community programs after traditional systems perceived as agents of colonization. Concludes Native control can empower communities and encourage responsive service but explains how problems--including funding, jurisdictional…

Traces the trend toward increased local autonomy in Spanish education by placing this movement in historical context. Contends that public and social life in Spain may be disrupted by regional pressure for greater self-determination in education. Suggests that fundamental change will be best

Describes a participatory research project among the Sikuani Indians of Colombia that uncovered solutions to a failing government-imposed health program. Discusses promoting community involvement in and control of its own health care, integrating traditional and modern medical practices, and adapting national health dictums to local circumstances.…

The article describes implementation of the PATCH (Planned Approach to Community Health) model in an urban African-American community. It presents recommendations reflecting lessons learned in that community and notes four components crucial to such a community-based public health effort. (SM)

Describes the community-based research approach of Barbara Bowman, a non-Indian studying psychological issues at Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. Reviews tribal-researcher relations at the reservation and discusses tribal requirements for research, including approval of the study, tribal ownership of the data, and formal presentations of…

States that Helen Scheirbeck has been an educational advocate for American Indians in Washington D.C. and in various academic settings since the late 1960s. Reports that, in particular, she pushed for change in political and bureaucratic processes and attitudes to help American Indians exercise more sovereignty over their educational institutions.…

Modified school years in First Nation schools contextualize the learning process by allowing student participation in traditional, seasonal, outdoor activities. Two case studies in which Hudson Bay area school officials unilaterally reintroduced the conventional calendar illustrate the important roles that First Nations education authorities can…